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Melanogrammus aeglefinus
Melanogrammus aeglefinus (''Haddock)' Kingdom: '''Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Gadiformes Family: Gadidae Genus: Melanogrammus Species: Melanogrammus aeglefinus Environment: milieu, climate zone, depth range, distribution range: Marine; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range 10 - 450 m, usually 10 - 200. Temperate; 79°N - 35°N, 76°W - 52°E. Distribution: Northeast Atlantic: Bay of Biscay to Spitzbergen; in the Barents Sea to Novaya Zemlya; around Iceland; rare at the southern Greenland. Northwest Atlantic: Cape May, New Jersey to the Strait of Belle Isle. Size, weight, age: Max. length: 1.12 m, common length: 35 cm; weight: 16.8 kg; age: 20 years Short description: The haddock has the elongated, tapering body shape typical of members of the cod family. It has a relatively small mouth which does not extend to below the eye; with the lower profile of the face being straight and the upper profile slightly rounded, this gives its snout a characteristic wedge-shaped profile. The upper jaw projects beyond the lower more so than in the Atlantic cod. There is a rather small barbel on the chin. There are three dorsal fins, the first being triangular in shape and these dorsal fins have 14 to 17 fin rays in the first, 20 to 24 in the second, and 19 to 22 in the third. There are also two anal fins and in these there are 21 to 25 fin rays in the first and 20 to 24 fin rays in the second. The anal and dorsal fins are all separated from each other. The pelvic fins are small with an elongated first fin ray. The upper side of the haddock's body varies in colour from dark grey brown to nearly black while the lower part of the body is dull silvery white. It has a distinctive black lateral line contrasting with the whitish background colour and which curves slightly over the pectoral fins. It also has a distinctive oval black blotch or ‘thumbprint’, sometimes called the "Devil's thumbprint", which sits between the lateral line and the pectoral fin,9 a feature which leads to the name of the genus Melanogrammus which derives from Greek "''melanos"'' meaning "black" and "''gramma"'' meaning letter or signal. The dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins are dark grey in colour while the anal fins are pale matching the colour of the silvery sides, with black speckles at their bases. The pelvic fins are white with a variable amount of black spots. Occasionally there are differently coloured variants recorded which may be barred, golden on the back or lack the dark shoulder blotch. The longest haddock recorded was 94 centimetres (37 in) in length and weighed 11 kilograms (24 lb), however, haddock are rarely over 80 centimetres (31 in) in length and the vast majority of haddocks caught in the United Kingdom measure between 30 centimetres (12 in) and 70 centimetres (28 in). In eastern Canadian waters haddock range in size from 38 centimetres (15 in) to 69 centimetres (27 in) in length and 0.9 kilograms (2.0 lb) and 1.8 kilograms (4.0 lb) in weight. Biology: Adults are found more commonly from 80 to 200 m, over rock, sand, gravel or shells, usually at temperatures between 4° and 10°C. Feed mainly on small bottom-living organisms including crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, worms and fishes (sand lance, capelin, silver hake, American eels, herring and argentines). A batch spawner. Undertakes extensive migrations in the Barents Sea and Iceland. Sold fresh, chilled as fillets, frozen, smoked and canned. Also utilized for fish meal and animal feeds. Can be steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked. Life cycle and mating behavior: Oviparous, sexes are separate. Spawning occurs in typically marine waters between 50 and 150 m depth. Main reference: Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p. IUCN Red List Status: VULNERABLE (''VU)' '''CITES: Not Evaluated CMS: Not Evaluated Threat to humans: Harmless Human uses: Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: experimental; gamefish: yes. Category:Gadidae, Cods and haddocks